How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

Question 1: What needs to be taught?

1. Form (pronunciation and spelling)
2. grammar
3. collocation
4. aspects of meaning: denotation, connotation, appropriateness
5. aspects of meaning: meaning relationships such as synonyms or antonyms
6. word formation (prefixes & suffixes)
Question 2: How to teach new vocabulary?
Step one: presenting new words
Step two: helping students remember new words
Step three: making sure students make the new words their own
Step One: presenting new words (meaning & form)
1. explanation: concise definition 5. words in context
/detailed description • dialogues
2. using visual images • role play
• realia • drama
• pictures • stories
• masking • songs
• drawing • rhymes & poems
• scales • videos
3. using gestures and actions 6. guessing / predicting
• mime 7. translation
• gesture
• facial expression
• action
4. showing lexical relations
• synonyms
• antonyms
• associated ideas, collocation
Step Two: helping students remember new words
use memorizing games and activities
1. matching words
2. labeling words
3. sequencing words
4. guessing words
5. eliminating words
6. classifying words
7. Others?

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 How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?
Note:
n It’s better if items can be linked with each other, or with ones already known, through
meaning-or sound-association
n It’s better to teach vocabulary in separated, spaced sessions than to teach it all at once.
In other words, words will be learned better if they are taught briefly at the beginning of
a lesson, reviewed later in the same lesson, and again in the next than if the same total
amount of time is used for learning the words all at once. This needs careful
lesson-planning, but will repay the efforts.
n Teach more important new words first or at the beginning of a lesson.
Step Three: making sure students make the new words their own
1. recycle words
2. personal dictionary (word notebooks/vocabulary books)
• marking word stress
• adding pictures
• putting a L1 translation
• putting the word into context
• adding a synonym /
3. mapping a word family
4. personalize the new words
5. design wordsearch games / picture labeling /crosswords / Bingo / dominoes / puzzles/
charts or survey for their peers
Question 3: How to test vocabulary
1. Multiple choice
2. matching
3. odd one out
4. writing sentences
5. dictation-translation
6. gap-filling
7. gap-filling with a pool of answers
8. translation
9. sentence completion
Online Learning Resources & Tools
• Teaching Vocabulary: Two Dozen Tips and Techniques
• English Vocabulary Word Listswith Games, Puzzles and Quizzes
• LearnEnglishKids
• An authoring tool: HOT POTATO
• A Collocation Tool: UWiLL

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 How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

Word Map

What a student may need to know about an item:

meaning
Affixes,
form
prefixes, suffixes

Collocation, pronunciation
idioms
New
vocabulary
spelling
Lexical relation,
synonyms, antonyms

Particular
Situation, Connotation
grammatical pattern
context

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 How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

ways to present a new word:

Visual images
Teaching others mime

guessing, Ways to present Synonyms

matching, a new word antonyms
categorizing

context definition
translation

ways to review a new word:

Write personal
Using it sentences
Example sentences
in the diary

Keeping a bank Ways to review Matching,

of cards a new word categorizing

Creative Teaching others

writing Giving tests to others

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Contextualized Vocabulary
Activities
l Using songs, chants,
pictures and games
l Simon says
l What’s in the picture?
l Matching Activities
1) using sentence strips
2) using Q & A strips
l Using chants to expand
vocabulary
l Bingo
l Cloze sentences
l Using popular songs
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How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?
Word Grouping, Classifying, or Word Formation or Derivatives Word Association Guessing Word Meanings From
Categorizing Context
l Word grouping l Singular / plural l Matching action words in l Multiple Choice exercise
l Odd-Man-Out l Rewrite a short passage by column A with nouns in l Cloze procedure
using a different tense column B 1) fill-in-the –blanks
l Choose irregular verbs from l Matching descriptive words 2) word choice exercise
a few lessons in the textbook to things, people or place using N, V, Adj
l Compound words l Match new vocabulary with 3) crossword puzzle
definition 4) circle the correct word to
l Antonyms complete each sentence
5) word search activity
l Odd-Man-Out l Construct words from root l Same or different l Review word bank
l Categorize concept words words 1) synonyms vocabulary
l Grouping descriptive words l Comparative and 2) antonyms l Words with multiple
for each event superlatives quiz l Which belongs to what? meanings
l Countries, nationalities and l Substitution activities
languages
l Classifying “The Big-Little l Dictation with a difference l Words with Multiple l Contextual guessing of
Domain” vocabulary l affixes Meanings idioms
l Brainstorming ideas to elicit 1) prefixes l Masculine and Feminine
“feeling” words from the 2) suffixes activity
class for writing them on the l connections l Semantic Mapping
board
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 How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

10 STEPS TO INTRODUCE VOCABULARY (From Do and Understand)

1. Show picture flashcards. 1. Say and mime the pictures. 1. Present the written form of the 1. Quickly flash the words cards 1. Then pronounce each of the
2. Name each word as attaching 2. Encourage students to imitate words. ant let your students shout out words again and point to the
it to the blackboard. your gestures or movements. 2. Hold up the word cards and the words. appropriate pictures.
3. Repeat the new words several pronounce them at the same 2. The speed of the presentation 2. Ask your students keep silent
times. time. effectively prevents your class but concentrate on listening to
4. Leave out the gestures and only 3. Do this with all the words that from trying to read the word your pronunciation only.
say the words. are to be introduced. letter by letter. 3. Children can close their eyes or
5. The children make the 3. When children call out the focus their gaze elsewhere.
correspondent gestures. correct word, you should repeat 4. Explain to them why they
it and tack the written version shouldn’t try to repeat after the
next to the appropriate teacher.
drawing. (Or have a child do
it).
4. You can flash your card upside
down or sideways.
5. You can also present a card
with just the first letter of the
word.
1. Children still close their eyes. 1. Ask your students to open their 1. Ask the children to close their 1. Write a number next to each 1. Remove all the cards and
2. Say the words aloud and ask eyes. eyes again. word (drawing + written drawings from the board.
the children to repeat after you. 2. Mouth one of the words 2. Remove one or more drawings words) on the board. 2. Ask the children to name the
3. Vary your voice (whisper, without making any sound. or word cards form the board. 2. Tell your class they have one words.
shout, and talk in high pitch) 3. Let your class guess which 3. Ask the children to open the minute to concentrate on the 3. Each time a child correctly
and get the class to imitate you. word it is by reading your lips. eyes and find what’s missing. numbers and words, and to names a word, he/she should
4. Encourage your students to remember which word goes point to the spot on the board
visualize the corresponding with which number. where his word was.
drawings in their minds. 3. After time’s up, ask them to 4. Write the first letter of this
close their eyes. word on the spot.
4. Say a number and get them to 5. (Or) you point to a certain spot
remember the word that goes on the board and get the class
with it. to name the word from
memory.

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